My first Translation will be about a Scary Story from 2ch.
It's called "Hachishakusama".
"Hachi stand for 8, "shaku" is a old unit of length (one shaku is approximately 30.3cm), and "sama" is something which you add onto a name to show that you respect that person.
Sama can be used like Mr. and Mrs, or to show reverance to gods.
So, Hachishakusama means Eight Feet Tall(240cm) God(or devil)
I know that there are somethings that can only be felt in its original language, and that my attempts to translate this story might end in vain. However, I want to give it a try so that the wall of language doesn't stop people interested in Scary Stories.
The URL for the original is here. Please remember that I'm just translating and this story is not
mine.
http://syarecowa.moo.jp/196-2/71.html
I'm going to be writing this story in a first person manner in respect to the original.
Hachishakusama
It takes 2 hours to get to my Grandparents house who are farmers. I loved the unique atmosphere of the open fields and the scenery there, so when I got into Highschool and got my motorcycle license I frequently went over alone. My Grandparents also liked their grandson visiting them. However, the last time I visited was when I got into my last year of highschool, which is around ten years ago. Its not like I didn't want to visit. I couldn't, and this is the reason why.
It was during spring break
(in japan the first semester of school starts in April, the second semester starts in September, and the last semester starts in January), and the weather was great so I decided to visit my Grandparents house. On the way there I rested on a patch of grass, feeling the soft rays of the sun and the slight breeze going over me. Just as I was about to get up and go my way, I heard a strange sound.
"
Po, po, poppopo, po, po..."
It was hard to distinguish what it was saying, since it also sounded like Vo or Bo, but one thing was for sure, it was coming from something alive. I was searching for the source when I saw a straw hat peering over a wall of someones backyard. From between the walls, I could see that the person wearing the hat was just a woman dressed in a white dress. I would have gone away but there was one thing that caught my attention. The wall was over 2 meters and I was surprised at how tall she was. I was thinking, is she wearing some ridiculous high heels or is that a NBA player disguised as a girl? when she strode sideways and disappeared into thin air, and the strange noise with her.
Her sudden disappearance bewildered me at first, but I quickly deduced that the tall person had just gone into his/her house. I left the place and arrived at my Grandparent's house uneventful. I was sitting down in their living room drinking tea when I told my Grandparents what I saw. They were just barely listening, saying "uh-huh" and "oh that's great", until I remembered that distinct voice. I said laughing, "Oh yeah, it was making this strange sound, like Po, Po, Po," when the two froze.
Grandpa's face became serious all of a sudden and grabbed my shoulders. He whispered,
"....How tall was the wall?"
When I answered it was over 2 meters, he started battering me with questions, like"Where did you see it","When did you see it", and "Did it do anything". I was barely able to respond when he suddenly became quiet and went to the hallway to call someone. The sliding doors were closed preventing me from eavesdropping, and so I looked over to Grandma for answers. I can't say for sure, but it seemed like she was trembling, and I instinctively swallowed my questions.
I was just about to ask her what it was all about when Grandpa came back to the room.
"I can't allow you to leave today. Grandma, I'm going to leave him with you, I've got to go and pick up Ms.K"
With he said made me feel like I had done something wrong, but I couldn't remember doing anything to make them angry. When Grandpa left on his truck to go somewhere, I gathered up my courage and cautiously asked Grandma what it was all about.
"You've been liked by Hachishakusama, but don't worry, Grandpa will do something. There's nothing to worry about. "
She answered with a wavering voice. Until grandpa came home, she told me in bits of what was going on.
There is a dangerous existence called "Hachishakusama" in this area. Its appearance is like a large woman, and because of its height, it was named hachishakusama, and it makes sounds like "Bo Bo Bo" in a mans voice. Its appearance slightly differs from person to person, looking like a old woman in a kimono, a girl in funeral clothing, a woman wearing ragged cloth, but its height and way of laughing never changes. Legends say that it came to the land possessing a traveler, but no one knows for sure. A long time ago, after wreaking havok in numerous villages, it was sealed in the villiage by 4 "jizou"'s(small stone statues of monks) placed in the North, East, South, and West borders of the village to restrict its area where it could move around to within the village. People who saw Hachishakusama were destined to be killed within several days, and the last time it appeared was 15 years ago.
The fact that these villagers would leave such a threat untended enraged me, but according to the old records, Hachishakusama was on a level of its own, so strong that it was impossible to seal it in small objects like a normal "youkai"(a Japanse version of demons and ghosts). The most the priest could do was to just prevent it from getting out of the village.
I still found it hard to believe that the villagers would consent to that, until I was told that by sealing hachishakusama in their village, they were given privileges, such as being given top priority over their surrounding villages when drawing water for their farms. Since Hachishakusama only appeared once in 10~20 years or so, the villagers thought it was a fairly good deal. Fuck them.
Truthfully speaking, it sounded ridiculous and I couldn't take it seriously. I mean, think about it, with modern science and technology, who believes in ghosts? I certainly didn't.
When Grandpa came back, he was with a old woman called K. She gave me a wooden plate the size of my hand and went upstairs with Grandpa to do something. I was left with Grandma again, but when she followed me to the bathroom and wouldn't allow me to shut the door, I finally felt the reality kicking in.
After a while I was taken upstairs and was lead into a room with its four walls all covered in Newspaper. Over the newspaper, lots of paper with runes written on were pasted on, and on the four corners of the room salt
(salt is used for purifying in japan) was placed. There were also 2 porta-pottys. What caught my attention most, though, was the small Buddha figure placed at the center of the room on top of a wooden box.
As I was looking at the figure, Grandpa faced me and said "The suns going down soon, so I'm going to be quick. Listen carefully, you must not, under any circumstances, leave this room till tomorrow morning. Grandma and I will not call you nor talk to you until then. Come out of the room when its 7 in the morning. Remember, do not leave the room until then. I'll tell your parents about whats going on."
He spoke slowly and calmly, to help me feel relaxed, but his ashen face and eyes showed the truth, and all I could do was quietly nod.
I was also told by Ms.K to follow his instructions and to never let go of the wooden plate. If anything happened I was to pray to the wooden figure.
After the door was closed shut, I turned on the TV but the eerie mood didn't lift, and all the snacks and rice balls Grandma had prepared for me didn't help. With nothing else to do, I got into my futon
(Japanese bed) and tried to calm myself.
Before I realized I was asleep, and when I woke up, the late-night shows were airing. A quick glance at my watch showed that it was just past 1a.m. I was a bit depressed, thinking, what a great time to wake up when,
"Tak Tak "
I heard the window being knocked on.
It wasn't like the sound of branches hitting the window or pebbles being thrown at it, it sounded like a knock by hand. I felt the blood draining from my head and desperately tried to calm myself, telling myself it was the wind playing tricks. I took a sip of tea, but it didn't help, so I turned up the TV's volume and forced myself to watch it.
It was then I heard Grandpa calling me.
"Hey are you all right? If you're really scared you don't have to push yourself you know"
I instinctively rushed to the door, but at the last moment I remembered what Grandpa said and stopped myself from moving the seals.
Grandpa talked to me again, saying
"What are you doing? You can open it now"
It sounded like Grandpa, but somehow, it was different. I couldn't tell what was, but I just knew.
As I glanced to the left a chill went through my spine ----the salt was slowly blackening,.
Grandpa's voice continued to echo in the room, but he only spoke the same lines.
"Hey are you all right? If you're really scared you don't have to push yourself you know"
"What are you doing? You can open it now"
I was still hoping that this might be Grandpa and couldn't move from before the door when the lines started becoming distorted.
"Hey you all right? If you're don't have to push yourself you"
"What are you? can open it"
"Hey you all right? can open it If you're don't have to push yourself you"
"You right? can open it if have to push yourself you"
"Po"
The sound caused me to bolt right to the Buddha figure, and I tightly held on the the wooden plate whilst desperately praying.
When I started praying, the voice increased,
"Poppopo, po, popo...."
and the knocking against the window resumed.
When I imagined "it" raising its hand and knocking at the window, fear overwhelmed me, and I was half crying, half praying for the remainder of the long night. It felt like forever, but unbelievably, morning came, and when I finally calmed down, the morning news was on and the TV showed it was 7:30. I don't remember when the sounds had stopped, and so I deduced that I had somehow fallen asleep or lost consciousness during the night. When I crawled over to the corner of the room, I saw that the salt had almost become completely black.
Just to make sure, I checked my watch, and seeing that it was also 7:30, I cautiously opened the door and saw Grandma and Ms.K waiting for me. Grandma started crying after seeing my face, overjoyed that I was safe. I went down the stairs and was surprised to see my father sitting at the table. Grandpa came from outside and said "Hurry up and get in the car". I went out to the yard to see a van and several men waiting.
The van was a 9 seater and I was seated in the center, with eight men surrounding me and Ms.K at the assistant drivers seat. The man on my left, who looked like he was in his fifties, said "You've got yourself in quite a trouble. I know it may be hard but keep your head down and eyes shut. We can't see "it", but you can, so until we get out of the area don't open your eyes"
With Grandpa's truck at the front and Father's car following from behind, the three vehicles slowly started moving. I think the cars were moving at around 20km/h or slower.
After a while Ms.K suddenly said "It's coming. Remember, don't open your eyes." and started mumbling something like a prayer.
"
Po, po, po, po..."
I heard the voice again.
"Po, po, po, popo, popo..."
"Popo, popo, popopo, popopopo..."
My grip tightened on the wooden plate and kept my head down, wishing it for it to end.
The voice kept up with us for what felt like eterntiy, and it drove me nuts, making me do the stupidest thing possible.
I opened my eyes.
A white dress came into my sight, and saw that "it" was moving with the van. Its long legs allowed it to keep pace, but its tall height prevented me from seeing its face through the window. I was still looking when "it" started bending down, trying to look inside the van.
It had me mesmerized, and although every single alarm in my body was going off, I couldn't close my eyes.
It was slowly bending down, and I could see its slender shoulders and neck which seemed to belong to a slender woman. It dipped down even more allowing me to see the top of its head, and with the beautiful silky black hair, I unbelievably became eager to see its face.
Until it whipped its head up.
The eyes. The two pitch black holes where the eyes should have been filled my mind with Fear.
The fear was so great that my body became numb, completely ignoring all the signals from my brain to look away.
Its face slowly closed its distance to the window, and just when it was about to touch the car, the man in his fifties saw my open eyes and roared
"SHUT YOUR F***** EYES!!!"
His voice broke the trance-like state I was in, and I slammed my eyelids as hard as I could. My grip on the wooden plate tightened so much that I could feel the edged of it biting into my hand but I didn't care.
"Tak, Tak, Tak"
"It" started tapping the window glass. The men around me were startled, some saying "what the.." or just letting some noise leave their mouth. It seemed that "it" was invisible and inaudible from everyone else, but the noise it made could be heard by other people. Ms.K's mumbling had become shouting by this time and the tension inside the van was insane.
However, when I realized it, "it"'s voice and noise had disappeared. Ms.K said that we had safely gotten out of its restricted area. The men around me all relaxed from relief, and we all got out of the car where the road widened out. Ms.K told me to show her the plate and when I opened my bloody palm, I saw that it had gotten a bit black.
"I think it'll be okay now, but just to be sure hold onto this for a while" she told me and handed me a new wooden plate.
After that we all left to our homes uneventful.
A week after, grandpa brought the bike I had left at their house to me, and I was finally told everything.
Father had also known about the "Hachishakusama", and told me that his friend had been liked by "Hachishakusama" and had lost his life to it 15 years ago.
He told me that
1. There are a few people who had to move out after they were liked by "it".
2. The people on the van were all blood relatives of mine, and it was all done to try and confuse "Hachishakusama" when I was most vulnerable moving out. However, as the relatives couldn't gather immediately and moving during day was probably safer than night, I had been confined in room.
3.That I was to never to go near my Grandparents house ever again, which is why I haven't visited them for over ten years.
A few years after, when I felt I had overcome the incident, I asked Grandpa if he had called out to me that nightmarish night. He told me that he was driving all over town to gather relatives and that he hadn't even stepped close to the house till morning. Confirming it gave me the chills again.
Its said that the victims are usually young people who haven't become adults yet, and I think that this is because they are more emotionally unstable and are more easier to be deceived when "it" pretends to be their relatives.
As I said in the beginning, its over 10 years since this happened, but the story didn't end there. Rather, the story got a hideous epilogue a few days ago. My grandmother called a few days ago.(Grandpa died 2 years ago, but I wasn't allowed to visit him in his last breath nor his funeral)
She told me that "The jizou that was used for sealing was broken by someone.(
its pretty common in japan) On top of that, the broken statue was looking East, the direction of your house"
I'm forcing myself to believe that it was all just a dream, but just in case, I write the experiences just in case.
Good Bye.
